Seduction's Stakes

by Claire Ashgrove

  "Tahiti, eh? What if Jennings’ horse wins—what do you stand to lose?"

  With a chuckle, Maddie answered, “Let's not talk about that."

  At her wink, Archie cackled.

  "So, is he ready?” She nodded her head at her colt.

  "Ready as he can be."

  She approached her horse and took his halter between both hands, tugging his nose downward to gaze into his expressive dark eyes. “Are you ready, boy?” she asked in a low voice.

  Infidelity bobbed his head like he understood her. With a light laugh, Maddie pressed a kiss on his velvety muzzle.

  Behind her, Riley's laughter carried on the light breeze. She turned around, watching him. He kept on, heading toward Mister Spoilsport's stall, without so much as glancing in her direction. His distance hurt. Particularly after discovering perfume on his clothes. Every time he passed as if he couldn't possibly care whether she chose to spend time with him or not, her stomach knotted, and visions of him with some strange woman leapt to her mind.

  She'd really screwed things up.

  "Kiddo, you okay?” Archie touched her elbow, peering at her with concern etched into his sky blue eyes. “Trouble in paradise?"

  "Yes. No.” She sighed. “I don't know."

  "Go tell him good luck. Then hurry back here, and we'll head on up for the post-parade. Aaron rode two races back, he'll be ready for us."

  She lifted her gaze to Riley's end of the stable, and decided against bothering him. If he wanted to talk to her, he'd come down here.

  "I don't think so, Archie. I'll just wait here."

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  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  Riley led Mister Spoilsport from his stall and stopped in the aisle to let Scott run the brush over him once more, stalling to put some distance between him and Maddie. A camera flashed, and he nodded to the photographer, lifted his hand to wave, smiling as it went off again. When he felt he could reasonably follow without it appearing like he deliberately kept Maddie close, he gave Mister Spoilsport a tug and stepped him out into the small courtyard outside of the stables.

  Not more than fifty feet away, Maddie stood back as Archie helped Aaron up on Infidelity's back. She looked worried. With her arms folded across her chest, her delicate features pulled into a sharp frown, and her eyes riveted on her horse. He'd be glad when this ended, and she retired Infidelity. He couldn't stand to see her constantly like this, her joy for racing hidden somewhere inside where she feared letting it go.

  Today promised good sport. With Mister Spoilsport the favorite, and Infidelity a close second, either way the race ended, they'd have something to celebrate tonight. The thrill of the coming moments coursed through his veins, accelerating his pulse. He loved matches like this, lived for them.

  "Well, boss, guess it's time to see what he's made of.” Ben sauntered up and tossed a saddle pad on Mister Spoilsport's back.

  "Can't happen soon enough for me,” Riley answered with a grin.

  He surveyed the other horse and jockey pairs, all preparing for the post-parade. To his left, Dirk Bettans held Brimstone while Marcus Allerio climbed up. Brimstone danced in place, anxious to move. Farther down, Sheikh Ramana's bodyguards bookended the powerful man as he watched his trainer and jockey ready Rival Scout. The colt stood quietly, chewing on his bit and swishing his tail, disguising his spit and vinegar track attitude. Yes, today would indeed prove sporting.

  A shout brought his attention back to Maddie. He frowned as Infidelity danced in place, his excitement getting the better of him, thwarting Aaron's attempts to mount. Archie jerked sharply on the reins, and the horse settled a little, now dancing in place much like Hangman's Jury farther down.

  Maddie's face was white.

  For the first time in his life, Riley didn't give a damn about his own horse. He didn't care whether they won or lost. It didn't matter if they even made it to the gate. His only concern lay with Maddie. His feelings for her demanded he go to her, and yet, his hands were tied. As trainer, he couldn't leave Mister Spoilsport until their pony rider picked them up on the edge of the track for the post-parade. Scott didn't have the experience to handle Mister Spoilsport if something didn't go as planned.

  At the first bright brass notes of First Call, the trainers took their horses in hand, and escorted them toward the track. The jockeys made a few last minute adjustments to their tack as they walked, and the horses’ ears pricked up, their adrenaline already running through their sleek bodies.

  "I don't think I need to tell you give him a hard inside rein when those gates open, Ben.” Riley looked up with an encouraging smile.

  "I got him under control.” Ben gave Mister Spoilsport a pat on the neck and nudged him with his heels, leaving Riley behind as he joined the pony horse and rider to take a walk around the track.

  Riley turned around, searching for Maddie. He couldn't help but smile as he spied her in front of him, moving swiftly toward the grandstand and the VIP seating. Starting after her, his heart drummed against his chest. In roughly five minutes Maddie would learn she owned not one, but two, horses vying for today's win.

  "Jesus Christ,” a spectator bellowed. The man bolted to his feet, hauling his buddy up by the elbow and pointing to the field.

  Riley whipped around as a murmur broke out through the crowd. His gaze fastened on Infidelity, just in time to see the big bay rise up on his hind feet.

  * * * *

  As the murmur in the stands grew to an anxious roar, a ripple of fear turned Maddie's blood cold. She turned around slowly, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end, and swallowed, not wanting to look. She knew. Something was wrong with Infidelity.

  Her eyes lifted.

  Aaron careened off Infidelity backwards, and the horse shot forward.

  On wobbling legs, she started toward the field, her heart in her ears, her chest so tight she couldn't breathe.

  "Oh my God!"

  "Someone catch the horse."

  "Shit, look at that beast go!"

  The shouts bellowed around her. She broke into a run, heading back the way she came. At the stairs, she looked down to check her footing. When she looked up again, Infidelity barreled around the track's far turn, and cut left, heading for the grassy infield.

  The horse and jockey teams pressed against the rail as the other horses balked. A sea of bodies converged upon her horse, each trying to stop, distract, or catch hold of the reins that streamed out behind him.

  Maddie broke into a run, cutting across the track to the infield green. The crowd let loose a collective gasp. She watched in horror as her horse headed straight for the rail. Her lungs on fire, she raced closer, desperate to do something, anything, to stop this madness.

  Riley shot past her, his coattails flapping behind him as he cut her off and chased down her horse. She stopped short, gasping for air. This wasn't happening. Dear God, this wasn't happening. The future of McCleery Racing wasn't tearing around the track riderless. He couldn't be.

  At the narrow railing, Infidelity cut back to the right, dodging the gathered crowd. On the dirt once more, he stretched out into full run, pounding down the stretch. One stride, two strides, three—he surged on.

  His left fore came down, and he buckled. Infidelity's nose dug into the dirt, and he skidded to a stop on his shoulder as Maddie stared, speechlessly.

  The spectators voices rose in shock, and she tried to block them out.

  Infidelity's hind legs struck out, as if he were still running. He struggled to rise to his sternum. He fell back, and Maddie's gut wrenched.

  "No,” she cried out. Her feet moved again, taking her forward without instruction as tears poured down her cheeks. She ran blindly, ignorant of the hands that reached out to stop her, frantic to reach the beautiful bay horse.

  * * * *

  Riley swallowed back his nausea as he bent over Infidelity. He'd heard the sickening snap long before the horse hit the ground. As he looked down at the blood-soaked racing bandage, he nee
ded no one to tell him the horse couldn't be saved.

  Archie pushed past him, tears streaming down his face as he yanked on the dangling reins and pulled Infidelity in the opposite direction, to pin him to the ground. He planted one knee in the bay's massive neck, stopping his struggling. Hands appeared out of nowhere. In the distance, Riley heard the roar of an engine, the motor on the equine ambulance.

  He turned away, searching the crowd for Maddie.

  She shouldered her way through the gathered people, and Riley jogged to intercept her. Catching her about the waist, he brought her against his chest, holding her fast.

  "Let me go.” She pounded her fists into his shoulders. “He's my horse, let me go."

  "Maddie, he's gone. You don't want to see him,” Riley coaxed as he tightened his arms around her, stepping around to block her view.

  "Let me go,” she cried out and drove her heel into his toe.

  The sharp pain caught him off guard, and his embrace loosened. Twisting free, she ran over to her horse, sobbing.

  Following at a slower pace, as he drew nearer, her anguished sob ricocheted through his mind like a gunshot. The vet stepped back with a shake of his head. She sank down to the dirt, burying her face in Infidelity's neck.

  Riley's gut twisted, feeling her grief as if it were his own. Damn it all, she'd known. He should have let her scratch the damn horse.

  He knelt beside her, drawing her away from the colt and into his arms. This time, she let him. Her fingers fisted into his shirt, and she clung to him.

  "Miss McCleery?” The veterinarian's tone was quiet, respectful.

  She trembled against him, and Riley locked his gaze with the older vet's. “Put him down, doc,” Riley answered for her in low voice. No one could save a compound fracture. There was nothing else to do.

  Maddie buried her face against Riley's shirt, and he fastened one hand against the back of her neck, holding her there. He pressed his lips against the top of her head and murmured, “Let me take you out of here, angel. You don't want to see all this."

  At her nod, he helped her to her feet and slid his arm around her waist, offering her support as she stumbled along beside him. Behind him, the equine ambulance and other track vehicles rolled into place, strategically blocking the horse's final moments, and his removal from the track, from the public's sight. Riley swallowed down the lump in his throat and blinked back the fine mist in his eyes.

  As he escorted her through the throng of people to the suite, he acknowledged the murmurs of condolences with a nod of his head. A handful of spectators dabbed at their eyes, they too affected by the tragedy. Who couldn't be? The freak accident still felt surreal to him.

  Maddie swiped at her eyes again, and he noticed the tears had slowed to an occasional trickle. She stared at her feet, letting him usher her along like a rag doll, but her fingers dug into his, her knuckles white, telling him she was more than aware of her surroundings.

  He let her into the suite and met Becca's gaze. She lifted her eyebrows, asking silently about the horse's fate. He answered with an unobtrusive shake of his head. Her shoulders sagged in understanding, and she eased back down into her chair.

  Guiding Maddie to an armchair, he sat her down and dropped to squat in front of her, holding both her hands. “I'm sorry, angel."

  She nodded with another sniffle but said nothing.

  He gave her hands a squeeze, then turned them loose to pour her a glass of water. She accepted it with trembling hands. Riley leaned forward to brush his lips across her cheek. Damn it all, she deserved better than this. Why hadn't he let her scratch that goddamn horse?

  With a sigh, he rose to his feet and moved to stand behind her, keeping one hand on her shoulder.

  Her fingers fell atop his, wrapped around, and held on as she stared out the wide picture window, watching the last of the vehicles leave the track.

  "Riley?"

  He could hardly hear her. “Yes?"

  "Call Doc Turnov at home. Send him out to x-ray Echo's legs. Tell him if he sees anything funny to geld him immediately. I want it done before I get there."

  Riley blinked, her request catching him off guard. He opened his mouth to protest, but then he understood. Her dream. It was in the blood. She'd finally put it all together, somehow. Only, his stomach bottomed out as he caught the deeper meaning. Maddie had lost far more than just her talented colt.

  "I'll phone him in a little bit."

  He closed his eyes, aching for her, wishing gifting her with Spoil could make it all right. Sadly, he realized, his timing couldn't be worse. Damn it. Couldn't he ever get anything right?

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  CHAPTER FORTY

  Maddie stared out at the field in a daze. She saw the horses move, watched as they finished the post-parade. When Infidelity hit the ground, she knew what she'd forgotten. A conversation she'd overheard after Nate's death. But in the aftermath of losing him, she hadn't paid attention.

  Archie and her father spoke with Doctor Turnov. She'd passed her father's office, catching a snippet of their conversation. He'd found what he thought might be a hair-line fracture in Echo's hind leg and believed he blew up because he was in pain. Her father followed up the comment with a remark that he'd heard the sire lines occasionally threw bad legs, just not often enough to warrant gelding Echo. The lines were so sought after mare owners overlooked the risk.

  As her father's best friend had when he bred Echo to Casual Affair, Infidelity's dam.

  Her father built the entire farm around bloodlines that could fail.

  Leaving her to watch it crumble.

  She'd just lost everything, and as soon as word spread about the break, people would speculate that she'd taken unnecessary risks. Sacrificed soundness for speed. Took her horse's life for granted in exchange for a one-way ticket to millions.

  No one who gave a damn about horses did that. Sure, some people didn't care. They lived only for the dollar to be made. But the majority of racehorse owners held their horses in high regard and cared about their welfare. No one, at this level of racing, deliberately turned a blind eye and risked their prized possessions. They just weren't that stupid. If the owners were, the trainers, more often than not, weren't.

  Distantly, she heard the bell ring, felt Riley's hand tighten over her shoulder. She tried to watch for his sake, but her thoughts blinded her to the race. Had Archie tried to hide this from her? Did he assume, after her father caught her listening, that she'd remembered? It explained his diligent approach to Infidelity's training, but had he believed it might be possible?

  The horses sped past the window in a blur. She'd just lost her prized horse. He should be out there, racing alongside Brimstone. If he had, though, would he have broken down, or would he have finished sound?

  She knew Doctor Turnov would find something. He had once before. Bone injuries didn't just fade with time. They calcified, often becoming clearer. She wouldn't let Echo reproduce the fault. Yet, in so doing, she ran her farm into the ground.

  She'd have to geld all her stock, then sell them at a loss. No one would invest money in a line with weak legs. She'd have to find them pleasure homes. The fillies too. Only, she'd have to keep their papers so if they reproduced the offspring couldn't ever find its way back to the track.

  Riley's fingers dug into her shoulder, and she focused on the blurry field to find Mister Spoilsport and Rival Scout neck and neck, approaching the last turn. Ordering herself to pay attention, she watched the pair. But her mind drifted back to her horses.

  Notifying the owners who'd bred to Echo was responsible, yet the most embarrassing part. Several would probably try to insist on refunds. Refunds she wasn't financially positioned to give.

  Riley bellowed, and she blinked. Driving across the finish, an easy four lengths ahead of Rival Scout, Mister Spoilsport claimed the Triple Crown. Holy shit. Riley just won.

  He pulled her out of her chair and spun her around, beaming from ear to ear. “We did it, angel. We d
id it,” he cried as he squeezed her tight.

  "You did it. You and that incredible horse.” Summoning her smile, she tried to push away her melancholy and share in his enthusiasm. He deserved at least that from her.

  For a fleeting moment, he looked like he might kiss her, and her heart skipped a beat. She wanted him to. Needed to feel his mouth, find strength in him. Instead, he set her back down on her feet and pulled her toward the door.

  "Where are you taking me?"

  "With me."

  She rocked back, rooting her heels in the ground and shook her head. “I don't want to go out there, Riley. I don't want to look at that track, can't stand in front of people. It's your victory. Go enjoy it."

  Riley's brows pulled into a slight frown and he studied her. His mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. “Darlin', you have to go with me."

  No, she didn't, and she didn't want to argue with him. In fact it was downright odd for him to insist on taking her with him. She wasn't a part of Jennings Racing. She was just his ... his ... she didn't even know that anymore.

  She pursed her lips and shook her head.

  He dragged her out the door anyway.

  "Riley, turn me loose. I don't want to go."

  "You don't have a choice. I meant to explain but given what happened, it just didn't feel right."

  She pried at his fingers as he pulled her through the cheering fans, down the set of stairs that led to the track and the infield.

  "Let me go,” she grit out between her teeth, trying to keep her voice quiet.

  "Can't. They expect you down here."

  What in the hell was he going on about now? She gave him a look, telling him he'd lost his mind, and yanked on her arm, trying to jerk free.

  As they set one foot on the deep dirt surface, the announcer's voice boomed through the grandstands. “Exceptional win for the three-year-old Mister Spoilsport. It seems Maddie McCleery has something to celebrate today after that devastating loss. Let's give her a round of applause."

  Maddie's feet quit moving at the same time she managed to free her hand from Riley's. Blinking rapidly, she set her hands on her hips and stared at him. “Start talking. What do those people,” she jerked her thumb over her shoulder, “know that I don't?"